“We are so honored to have been awarded the Peabody Award which shines a light on stories that matter,” said director and executive producer Roger Ross Williams. “Being nominated would’ve been an honor enough but this one mattered so much to me. I grew up Gullah and the smells coming out of my mother’s kitchen meant safety. It meant security. It was surprising when I went to Benin, West Africa and those same smells were there in the marketplace. It felt like I was coming home. In making the series, we wanted to really create a balance between the hardship and sorrow of these untold stories but also the courage and the artistry and the resourcefulness of African-Americans.”

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He concluded: “These stories illuminate how we helped define the American kitchen and American cuisine. I want to thank Netflix, which greenlight this project not once but twice, we have a second season coming y’all; Dr. Jessica B. Harris, whose brilliant book the series is based on; Fabienne Toback and Karis Jagger, who [both]read the book and knew it would be a documentary; my business partner Geoff Martz; Stephen Satterfield, whose quiet intelligence fueled every frame of this documentary; Shoshona Guy, our brilliant showrunner and our entire team. Thank you so much.”

Congratulations to High on the Hog! Winners for the 82nd Annual Peabody Awards will continue to be presented on social media beginning today through Thursday, June 9.